Vehicle luggage compartment



Aug- 25, 1959 l B. WALKER 2,901,285

i VEHICLE LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT Original Filed Jan. 22, 1953 2Sheets-Sheety 1 1N VEN7 OR.

Aug. 25, 1959 B. WALKER 2,901,285

' VEHICLE LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT Original Filed Jan. 22, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet 2 United States APatent Oilice Patented Aug. 25, 19592,901,285 VEHICLE LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT Brooks Walker, San Francisco,Calif.

Continuation of 'application Serial No. 332,627, January 22, 1953. Thisapplication November "5, 1958, Serial No. 772,033

)9 Claims. (Cl. 296-37) rThis invention relates to an improved luggageor storage "compartment for a vehicle body and more particularly to animproved means for enabling access to such cornpartment from a side ofthe vehicle body.

This is a continuation application of my US. application, ySerial No.332,627, tiled January 22, 1953, now abandoned for Vehicle LuggageCompartment.

Heretofore, luggage and Storage compartments were usually accessibleonly from the rear of the vehicle body and in situations where thevehicle would be parked with the rear portion thereof in close proximityto or near the front portion of another vehicle, Wall, etc., access tothe luggage or storage compartment of the desired vehicle body waspractically impossible. Further, in `situations of breakdown or repairwhen the vehicle is parked on a busy highway and it is desirable to gainaccess to the luggage or storage compartment of the vehicle body, it isusually necessary for the operator to stand behind the vehicle body in aposition which places the operator in danger of being struck by avehicle which may be approaching from the rear.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a vehicle bodywith an improved luggage or `.storage compartment which is accessiblefrom a side of the vehicle body. l It is also an object of thisinvention to provide a vehicle body with an improved luggage or storagecompartment that is larger `and more easily accessible than thecompartments heretofore provided in vehicle bodies with `the improvedcompartment of this invention extending substantially the full Width ofthe vehicle body and having a substantially continuous unobstructedopening thereinto with the access into the improved compartment beingfrom a side of the vehicle body.

It is a further object of this invention to provide Van improved rearluggage or storage compartment for a vehicle body which enables accessto be had to the improved compartment from the side of the vehicle bodywithout necessitating the operator to take a position `to the rear ofthe vehicle body.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improvedrear luggage or storage compartment of va vehicle body which enablesaccess to be had from a side of the vehicle body so that easy access maybe vhad to the improved compartment when the rear of the vehicle bodSIis in close proximity to an object such as another parked vehicle orwall; which enables the operator 'to remain in a safe position whileplacing o'r removing luggage, articles, spare Wheel assembly, tools,jack, etc., Without taking a dangerous position to the rear of thevehicle body Where the operator may be struck by 'an oncoming vehicle;so that an operator while gaining access to "the improved compartmentwill not obstruct the view of lthe vehicle body, tail light, etc., fromanother vehicle which may be approaching from the rear.

"It is an additional object of this invention to provide a `luggage orstorage compartment of a vehicle body a closure member which opens fromaside of the vehicle 2, body and enables access to the improvedcompartment from the side of the vehicle body.

It is a further additional object of this invention to provide a rearluggage or storage compartment of a Vehicle body with a closure memberwhich is hingeably supported to the vehicle body by a hinge means whichextends generally longitudinally of the vehicle body.

It is a further additional object of this invention to provide a rearluggage or storage compartment of a vehicle body with a closure memberwhich is hingeably connected to the vehicle body by a hinge means whichextends generally longitudinally of the vehicle body with the hingemeans being disposed in a substantially vertical plane that is generallyparallel to and/or substantially transversely spaced from a verticalplane that is `common to the longitudinally extending center line of thevehicle body.

It is a further additional object of this invention to provide a rearluggage or storage compartment of a vehicle body with a closure memberwhich enables access to the compartment from one side of the vehiclebody with the closure member having a normally generally verticallydisposed Wall portion which forms a part of the one side of the vehiclebody.

It is a still further additional object of this invention to provide arear luggage or storage compartment of a vehicle Ibody with a relativelysmall closure member which opens from a side of the vehicle body ltoenable ready access to the improved compartment `for small articlesacquired through day to day shopping without necessitating the use ofthe lar-ger more inconvenient conventional type of closure members forthe rear compartments of vehicle bodies which enable access to theconventional compartments only from the rear of the vehicle.

It is Vanother object of this invention to provide ra vehicle body thathas a spare wheel assembly that is 'located on the rear portion of thevehicle body and which projects generally upwardly therefrom with animproved rear luggage or storage compartment which is accessible from aside of the vehicle body so that access may be had to the improvedcompartment without disturbing the position of the spare Wheel assembly.

ln orderto acquire and accomplish the desired objects, as stated above,the present invention provides an improved luggage or storagecompartment for a wheel mounted vehicle body wherein the improvedcompartment extends generally transversely of the vehicle body and ispartly denned by a generally transversely lextending upwardly projectingrear portion and generally longitudinally extending upwardly projectinglaterally spaced side portions of the vehicle body. The improvedcompartment is substantially continuously unobstructed and open to givendesired levels along the rear portion and at least one of the sideportions to define an access opening which enables ready access into theimproved compartment from oneside of the vehicle body. A closure memberis provided for closing the storage compartment and the closure memberhas a main body portion which is normally disposed generallyhorizontallyand which has generally vertically disposed rear and side wall por`-tions depending therefrom with the rear and sidewall 'portions beingsubstantially normal to the main tbody portion. The rear and side wallportions of the'c'losure member extend generallydownwardly and terminateimmediately adjacent to and at substantially the respective `level alongboth the rear portion 'and the corresponding side portions of thevehicle body which partly denne the storage compartment. A hinge means`is Aprovided for hingeably connecting the closure member to the Aotherside portion of `the vehicle body with the hinge `means beingdisposcd ina generally longitudinally extending substantially vertical `plane thatis parallel to antiyolr ,mode of practicing the principles thereof.bodiments may be suggested to those having the benet ,age compartmentfrom the one side of the vehicle body.

Other objects and important features of the invention will be apparentfrom a study of the specification following taken with the drawing whichtogether describe and illustrate a number ofl preferred embodiments ofthe invention and what are now considered to be the best Other emof theteachings herein, and such embodiments are intended to be reservedespecially as they fall within the scope and purview of the subjoinedclaims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a rear elevational View of a vehicle body having onemodification of the improved luggage or storage compartment embodiedtherein;

Figure 2 is a partial side elevational view of the vehicle bodyillustrated in Fig. l;

Figure 3 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the vehicle bodytaken along the line 3--3 of Fig. l looking in the direction of thearrows;

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of a vehicle body having anothermodiiication of the improved luggage and storage compartment embodiedtherein with a portion of Vthe closure member for the compartment beingbroken away to more clearly illustrate the hinge means;

Figure 5 is a partial side elevational view of the vehicle body asillustrated in Fig. 4;

Figure 6 is a rear elevational view of a vehicle` body .having a stillfurther modiiication of the improved luggage and storage compartmentwith a portion of the closure member therefore being broken away to moreclearly illustrate the hinge means; and

Figure 7 is a partial side elevational view of the vehicle lbody asillustrated in Fig.k 6.

Attention is now directed to the drawing wherein, for the sake ofbrevity, only the rear portion of a wheel mounted vehicle body 1b isillustrated. The vehicle body is provided with the usual rear fenders 3,windows 4, passenger compartment or space '7, and is supported on rearwheels 5 which are disposed within rear wheel housings lilla. A rearbumper S is provided and a spare wheel assembly 6 is secured to andcarried by the rear portion of the vehicle body 10 in a manner to bemore fully disclosed and described hereinafter.

An improved luggage or storage compartment 9 is provided in the rearportion of the vehicle body 10 with the compartment 9 extendingsubstantially the entire transverse or lateral width of the vehicle body10 in generally rearwardly spaced relationship to the passenger f space7. The compartment 9 is partly defined by a generally transversely orlateral-ly extending rear portion 9a, generally longitudinally extendingtransversely or laterally spaced side portions 9b and a iloor or bottomportion 9c of the vehicle body 10. The rear 9a and side 9b portions ofthe vehicle body 10 extend generally upwardly and terminate in Agivendesired generally horizontally disposed planes to enable and provide anaccess `opening for the compartment 9 so that the compartment 9 issubstantially continuously unobstructed and open throughout the fullextent thereof and along the rear and side portions to enable readyaccess to the compartment k9 from a side of the vehicle body 10.

As disclosed and described in my U.S. application Serial No. 323,551,for Vehicle Fuel Tanks, now Patent No. 2,808,892, it is possible tomount a fuel tank, not

illustrated, to the side of the drive shaft of the vehicle 4so that thefloor 9c of the compartment 9 may occupy lthe lowest permissibleclearance location normally used by fuel tanks, tire wells, exhaustlines, etc., in conven- `A,tional construction in order to provide agreater luggage or storage space in the compartment 9. Since the specicstructure for mounting the fuel tank forms no part of this inventionsuch structure will not be described or disclosed herein.

In each modification of the improved compartment 9 of this invention,each to be more fully disclosed and described hereinafter, there isprovided at least one closure means, indicated generally by thereference numeral 11 which is hinged to the vehicle body 10 for swingingmovement about a substantially horizontally disposed axis that extendsgenerally longitudinally of the vehicle body 10 to enable access to behad to the compartment 9 from the one side of the vehicle body 10. Ineach modification, the closure means 11 includes a normally generallyhorizontally disposed main body portion having at least one wall portionwhich depends substantially perpendicular therefrom and which is furthernormally disposed generally vertically and which further forms a part ofthe rear fender 3 of the longitudinally extending side of the vehiclebody 10 from which access is desired to the compartment 9.

Attention is now directed -to the modification of the improvedcompartment 9, as illustrated in Figs. 1-3, wherein the compartment 9 ispartly defined by the rear portion 9a and side portions 9b of thevehicle body 10. A door or closure member 13 is provided for closing apart of the storage compartment 9. The closure member 13 is providedwith a normally horizontally disposed main body portion 13b and anormally generally verti-A cally -disposed wall portion 13e whichnormally extends downwardly along the side of the vehicle body 10. Hingemeans 13a hingeably connect the closure member 13 to longitudinallyspaced upstanding brackets 13C which are secured to the compartment oorportion 9c near a frame support of the vehicle body 10 with the hingeaxis being disposed substantially horizontal and extending generallylongitudinal of the vehicle body 10 and positioned in a generallyvertical plane that is substantially parallel to and/ or transverselyspaced from the vertical plane of the longitudinally extending centerline of the vehicle body 10 which enables the closure member 13 to beupwardly pivoted about the axis of the hinge means 13a so that access tothe storage compartment 9 may be had from that side of the vehicle body10. A handle 15 which operates a latch means 16 is provided forpositioning the closure member 13 in the normal closed position, notillustrated.

Another door or closure member 12 is provided for closing the centralpart of the compartment 9 and the another closure member 12 is providedwith a main body portion 12b and a normally generally verticallydisposed wall portion 12d which depends `downwardly from the mainportion 12b and terminates along the access opening as defined by theupstanding rear portion 9a of the vehicle body 10. A hinge means 12a isprovided for hingeably mounting the another closure member 12 to thevehicle body 10 and the hinge means 12a is disposed with the hinge axisextending generally laterally or transversely of the vehicle body 10 toenable access to the storage compartment 9 from the rear of the vehiclebody 10. An additional door or closure member 14 is provided for closingthe remaining part of the compartment 9 and the .additional closuremember 14 is provided with portions 14b, 14e, handle 15a, latch 16a andis hingeably mounted to the vehicle body 10 by brackets 14C and hingemeans 14a. The hinge means 14a is disposed in a generally longitudinallyextending substantially vertical plane that is generally parallel toand/or laterally spaced from the vertical plane of the longitudinallyextending center line of the vehicle body 10 so that the closure member14 may move about a generally horizontally disposed substantiallylongitudinally extending hinge axis to enable access to the compartment9 from that side of the vehicle body 10. In eifect, the closure members13 and 14 together with the associated elements are disposedenantiomorphously to each other so that each of these closure memabonneesa bers will enable access to be had to the compartment from either ofthe sides of the vehicle body 10.

It is to be noted that each of the wall portions 13e and 14e form partof the adjacent rear fenders 3 and that the wall portions 13e and 14etogether with the associated side portions 9b form part of therespective longitudinally extending sides of the vehicle body 1t).

It is also to be noted that the closure members 12 and 13 have ajuncture along a common line which extends generally longitudinally ofthe vehicle body for substantially the full length of that side of theclosure member 13 which is hingeably mounted to the vehicle body 10.Also, the closure members 12 and 14 also have a juncture along a commonline similar to that juncture described above between the closuremembers 12 and 13 and that these junctures between the respectiveclosure members are disposed to opposite sides of the longitudinalextending center line of the vehicle body 10. If desired, sealing means,not illustrated, may be provided for sealing the junctures between theclosure members 13, 12 and 12, 14 along the common lines of Contact.

Attention is now directed to the modification of the improvedcompartment 9, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, wherein this compartment9 may be partly defined by the rear portion 9a and laterally spaced sideportions 9b of the vehicle body 10. noted that a part of the sideportion 9b on the left hand side of the vehicle body 10 defines anupstanding Wall having an upper portion thereof disposed a substantialdistance above the peripheral edge of the opposite side portion of thecompartment 9 which is open and the compartment 9 is provided with asingle door or closure member having the generally normally horizontallydisposed top or main body portion 20h and a wall portion 20d extendinggenerally transversely of the vehicle body 10 and a normally generallyvertical wall portion 20e extending along one side of the Vehicle body10. The side of the closure member 20 laterally opposite the wallportion 20c of the closure member 20 is hingeably secured to the upperportion of the upstanding wall of the adjacent side portion 9b of thevehicle body 10 by a hinge means 20a which is disposed in a generallylongitudinally extending substantially vertical plane that is generallyparallel to and/or transversely spaced from the vertical plane of thelongitudinally extending center line of the vehicle body ltl formovement about a generally horizontally disposed longitudinallyextending hinge axis so that access to the compartment 9 may be had fromthe side of the vehicle body 10. It is to be noted that the closuremember 20 extends from the hingeable connection 20a to the adjacent sideportion 9b of the vehicle body 10 substantially continuously entirelytransversely across the vehicle body and terminates in the wall portion20e which forms the part of the adjacent rear fender 3 with the wallportion 20e also cooperating with the respective side portion 9b todefine a part of the longitudinally extending side of the vehicle body10. By so hingeably mounting the adjacent portion of the closure member2f) to the upper portion of the upstanding wall defined by the side 9bthe closure member 20 may be moved to the raised position, asillustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, Without effectively increasing the widthof the vehicle body 10 an appreciable amount as measured from thelongitudinal center line of the vehicle body to that part of thelongitudinally extending side 9b which has the hinge means 20a connectedthereto. The closure member 20 may be easily moved between the open andclosed positions by a handle 21 which may be nested in a guard rail 21afor neatness of appearance and protection and a handle 22 actuates alatch means 23 to retain the closure member 20 in its normal position.The closure member 20 may alsol be counter balanced by conventionalmeans for easy opening and, if desired, a rod, not illustrated, may beemployed to retain the closure member 20 in open position.

In the modification of the improved compartment 9,

In this modification, it is to be illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, whereinthe compartment 9 is partly dened by the rear 9a and side 9b portions ofthe vehicle body 10 there is provided a single door or closure member 39which extends entirely laterally across or transverse of the vehiclebody 1t) and includes a generally horizontally disposed main bodyportion 30b having depending therefrom a transversely or laterally eX-tending wall portion 3M and laterally or transversely spacedlongitudinally extending wall portions 39e. One of the wall portions 30ehas the lower edge portion thereof hingeably secured to the adjacentside portion 9b of the vehicle body 16 by hinge means 39a which isKdisposed in a generally longitudinally extending substantially verticalplane that is generally parallel to and/or transversely spaced from thevertical plane of the longitudinally extending center line of thevehicle body for movement about a substantially horizontally disposedgenerally longitudinally extending axis so that access may be had to thecompartment 9 from the other side of the vehicle body. In thismodification the wall portions 30d and 3de of the closure member 30each, respectively, extend down to and terminate immediately adjacentthe upstanding rear 9a and side 9b portions of the vehicle body 1t),which minimizes fthe joining edges visible from the rear of the vehiclebody l@ and also reduces the possibility of leakage into the compartment9. In this modification, each of the wall portions 30e form a part `ofthe adjacent rear fenders 3 and it is to be noted that the wall portions30e also cooperate with the adjacent side portions 9b to form a part ofeach longitudinally extending side of the vehicle body 10.

A handle 31 enables the closure member 30 to be moved between the openand closed positions and a handle 32 controls a latch means 33 forlocking and unlocking the closure member 3i). A counterbalance or rod,neither illustrated, may be used, if desired, to hold the closure member36 open.

It is to be noted, that in each modification of the irnprovedcompartment 9 for the vehicle body 10 as disclosed and described above,that -there may be provided the spare wheel assembly 6 which is disposedin close proximity to the respective compartment 9` in generallyvertically upwardly extending position and which normally would bepivoted to the rear portion of the vehicle body 10 in order that accesscould be had to a con-ventional rear compartment from the rear of thevehicle body. However, by the improved compartment 9 and the closuremembers 13, 14, 2f) and 30 of each embodiment of this invention, it ispossible that access rnay be had into the compartment 9 from the side ofthe vehicle body 10 without disturbing or necessitating the movement ofthe spare tire assembly 6 from the generally vertical position.

While the invention has been described in terms of a number of preferredembodiments thereof, its scope is intended to be limited only by theclaims herein appended.

I claim as my invention:

l. A passenger vehicle having a passenger compartment, rear wheels, aluggage compartment in the rear of said vehicle, said luggagecompartment being located largely rearwardly of said rear wheels, afirst door to said luggage compartment opening on one side of saidvehicle and hinged along a substantially horizontal axis which extendsgenerally longitudinal of said vehicle, a second door to said luggagecompartment opening on the other side of said vehicle and hinged along asubstantially horizontal axis which extends generally longitudinal ofsaid vehicle, and a third Idoor to said luggage compartment opening overthe center thereof and hinged along a substantially horizontal axiswhich extends generally lateral of said vehicle, both said first andsecond doors having lines of contact which are common with said thirddoor.

2. A motor vehicle including in combination, a passenger compartment, aseparate luggage compartment in the rear of the vehicle, rear wheels, afirst door rearwardly of .the center of said rear wheels leading fromthe vehicle 4exterior into said luggage compartment, said door open-,ing along longitudinal hinge means adjacent an edge thereof with theedge opposite the hinge means being free and extending along one side ofthe vehicle to give access to said luggage compartment from said oneside,

and a second `door to said luggage compartment opening on laterallyextending hinges over the central portion of the luggage compartment,said doors having, when closed, a common line of contact alongsubstantially the complete length of the hinged edge of said first door.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 in which there are means at Vsaid common lineof contact for sealing against leakage.

4. ln a wheel mounted vehicle body having a passenger space, a storagecompartment extending substantially the full transverse dimension of thevehicle body in generally rearwardly spaced relation to the passengerspace,

said storage compartment being substantially continuously unobstructedthroughout the full transverse dimension of the vehicle body and openalong the rear and a part of one of the generally longitudinallyextending sides of the vehicle body to enable ready access 4into thestorage compartment from the said one side of the vehicle body, a firstclosure member for closing a part of the storage compartment, said firstclosure member having a normally gene-rally vertically disposed wallportion extending downwardly along the said side of the vehicle body, afirst hinge means hingea-bly connecting a portion of the first closuremember to the vehicle body, said rst hinge means extending generallylongitudinally of Ithe vehicle body to enable said access to the storagecompmtrnent from the said one side of the vehicle body, a second closuremember for closing another :part of the storage compartment, said secondclosure member terminating along the rear of the vehicle body to enableaccess to the storage compartment from the rear of the vehicle body, anda second hinge means for hingeably connecting the second closure memberto the vehicle body, said second hinge means extending generallytransversely of the vehicle body, said first and second closure membershaving a juncture along Aa common line extending generallylongitudinally of the vehicle body and substantially the 4full length ofthe hinged portion of the rst closure member.

5. The vehicle body of claim 4 wherein said storage compartment is alsoopen along a part of the other generally longitudinally extending sideof the vehicle body, a third closure member and thi-rd hinge meansenantiomorphous to the first closure member and first hinge mean-s forclosing -that part of the storage compartment -along the said other sideof the vehicle body, said second closure member and third closure memberalso having a juncture along a common line with the said junctures beingdisposed on opposite sides of the longitudinally .'ber for closing theaccess opening, said closure member extending continuously from the saidone portion of the storage compartment transversely to the said otherportion thereof and having a generally vertically disposed substantiallylongitudinally extending wall cooperating with the said other portion ofthe storage compartment to deli-ne a part of one longitudinallyextending side of the vehicle body, hinge means hingeably connecting theclosure member to the said one portion of the Storage Vspace, saidvehicle body including generally longitudinally extending laterallyspaced upstanding side portions at each Iside of the storagecompartment, said storage compartment being open to enable access intothe storage compartment, said hinge means being disposed in a generallylongitudinally extending vertical plane that is transversely spaced fromthe vertical plane of the longitudinally extending center line of thevehicle body, and a spare wheel assembly mounted in a generally verticalposition at the rear of the vehicle body in close proximity to theclosure member, whereby said closure member may be raised to enableaccess to the storage compartment from the said one longitudinallyextending side of the vehicle body without disturbing the generallyvertical position of the spare wheel assembly.

7. In a wheel mounted vehicle body having passenger space, a storagecompartment extending transversely of the vehicle body in generallyrearwardly spaced relation to the passenger space, said storagecompartment having a substantially unobstructed access opening extendingcontinuously substantially transversely across the rear of the vehiclebody and along one longitudinally extending side thereof, a closuremember for closing the access opening, said closure member extendingcontinuously from the other longitudinally extending side o-f theVehicle body substantially transversely thereacross to the said onelongitudinally extending side thereof and having generally normallyvertically disposed rear and side wall portions, said side wall portionof the closure member defining a part of the said one longitudinallyextending side of the vehicle body, hinge means hingeably connecting theclosure member tothe said other longitudinally extending side of thevehicle body, said hinge means being disposed in a generallylongitudinally extending substantially vertical plane that istransversely spaced from the vertical plane of the longitudinallyextending center line of the vehicle body, and a spare wheel assemblymounted in a generally vertical position at the rear of the vehicle bodyin close proximity to the closure member, whereby said closure membermay be raised to enable access to the storage compartment from the saidone longitudinally extending side of the vehicle body without disturbingthe generally vertical position of the spare wheel assembly.

8. In a vehicle body having a storage compartment in the rear portionthereof, said compartment being open along a peripheral edge of onelongitudinally extending side and closed along the other longitudinallyextending side to define an opening which enables access into thecompartment from the one longitudinally extending side of the vehiclebody, the other longitudinally extending side of the vehicle bodyincluding an upstanding wall having the upper-portion thereof disposed asubstantial distance above the peripheral edge portion of the open sideof the compartment, a closure having a top portion and a depending sideportion for closing the compartment, said top portion of lthe closureextending from the said upstanding wall with the side portion of theclosure engaging the peripheral edge of the open side of the compartmentso that the side portion defines a part of the said one longitudinallyextending side of the Vehicle body when the closure is in a storagecompartment closing position, and hinge means secured in fixed relationto the said upper portion of the upstanding wall and to the adjacentedge portion of the closure for pivoting the the vehicle body withouteffectively increasing the width of the vehicle ybody as measured fromthe longitudinal -center line of the vehicle body to the said otherlongitudinally extending side thereof.

9. A vehicle body having passenger space and a storage compartmentlocated rearwardly of the passenger compartment over a part of one ofthe side portions of the vehicle body, a closure for closing saidcompartment, and hinge means disposed along a generally longitudinallyextending axis hingea'bly connecting one. side of the closure to theother side portion of the vehicle body, said hinge means being located asubstantial distance above the said part of Ithe one side portion of thervehicle body and a substantial distance from. the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle body, said one side of the closure being movableWithout substantially increasing the width of lthe vehicle body at theclosure as measured from the longitudinal center line of the vehiclebody to the said other side portion thereof when the closure is fullyopen, the other side of the closure including an- 5 is closed.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,700,572 Torrance Jan. 25, 1955 10 2,747,923 McLean May 29, 1956FOREIGN PATENTS 631,921 Great Britain Nov. 11, 1949

